‘The Stereotypes Follow Us’:Tina Knowles-Lawson Reveals Racism Affected Her Daughters Beyoncé and Solange’s Careers
Beyonce and Solange may be mega superstars, having released several hit albums and traveled the world performing for millions. However, despite the enormous amount of success and inspiration to many who follow their journey, the singers’ mother, Tina Knowles-Lawson, recently shared that her daughters’ accolades haven’t barred them from being stereotyped.
During an interview with Insider last week, while promoting “Profiled: The Black Man,” a new four-part docuseries coming to OWN and Disney+ for which she’s an executive producer, the former fashion designer said she has “absolutely” seen racial bias affect her children’s careers. “Many times,” she added. “You don’t want to sound like a broken record, but you think, ‘My goodness. Why do you think that they can’t do this?’ Or, ‘Why do you think that this is not possible for them?’”
The 68-year-old successful businesswoman said even she’s had to deal with a similar situation throughout her own life, telling the outlet, “I know without a doubt that they would not say that to a white counterpart, but it’s something we’ve always had to deal with.”
Elsewhere she noted, “It affects every area across the board. It doesn’t matter what profession you’re in, the stereotypes follow us, unfortunately, and hopefully, we can make a little tiny dent in that and change perception.”
Still, it hasn’t been the first time or last time Knowles-Lawson claims she has had to defend her family from negative racially-charged remarks.
While appearing on “CBS Morning” with Gayle King on Thursday, Feb 10, the mother of two told a story about a time she says a white woman yelled at her for approving of Beyoncé’s marriage to Grammy-winning rapper and music mogul Sean Jay-Z Carter.
“I can remember getting on a plane, and an older white woman saying, ‘Oh, your son is a gangster rapper, right? How did you let him marry your daughter?’” Knowles-Lawson claimed this conversation went.
“It was just shocking to me, and I said, ‘No, actually, my son is a CEO,’” she added. “She didn’t think of him as a CEO or even a talented celebrity that was a great businessman. At that time, I remember thinking, ‘I can’t be mad at her because that is what the media portrays.’”
At the time, the star told King that this new show, hosted by rapper and actor Tristan “Mack” Wilds, aims “absolutely to debunk those stereotypes that our men are dangerous.”
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